a bank or hedge-row. The balloon pulled up with
such a shock as inevitably follows when flying at sixty miles an hour,
and Mr. Coxwell continues:--"We were at this time suspended like a
kite, and it was not so much the quantity of gas which kept us up as the
hollow surface of loose silk, which acted like a falling kite, and the
obvious game of skill consisted in not letting out too much gas to
make the balloon pitch heavily with a thud that would have been awfully
unpleasant; but to jockey our final touch in a gradual manner, and yet
to do it as quickly as possible for fear of the machine getting adrift,
since, under the peculiar circumstances in which we were placed, it
would have inevitably fallen with a crushing blow, which might have
proved fatal. I never remember to have been in a situation when more
coolness and nicety were required to overcome the peril which here beset
us; while on that day the strong wind was, strange as it may sound,
helping us to alight easily, that is to say as long as the grapnel held
fast and the balloon did not turn over like an unsteady kite." Such
peril as there was soon terminated without injury to either voyager.

The same remark will apply to an occasion when Coxwell was caught in
a thunderstorm, which he thus describes in brief:--"On a second ascent
from Chesterfield we were carried into the midst of gathering clouds,
which began to flash vividly, and in the end culminated in a storm.
There were indications, before we left the earth, as to what might be
expected. The lower breeze took us in another direction as we rose, but
a gentle, whirling current higher up got us into the vortex of a highly
charged cloud.... We had to prove by absolute experience whether the
balloon was insulated and a non-conductor. Beyond a drenching, no
untoward incident occurred during a voyage lasting in all three-quarters
of an hour."

A voyage which Coxwell (referring, doubtless, to aerial travel over
English soil only) describes as "being so very much in excess of
accustomary trips in balloons" will be seen to fall short of one
memorable voyage of which the writer will have to give his own
experiences. Some account, however, of what the famous aeronaut has to
tell will find a fitting place here.

It was an ascent on a summer night from North Woolwich, and on this
occasion Coxwell was accompanied by two friends, one being Henry Youens,
who subsequently became a professional balloonist of considerable